Southeast Faerûn lay to the south and east of the grassy plains known as the Shaar,[1] along the shores of the Great Sea opposite the land of Zakhara. At the edge of this region lay in the east the Five Kingdoms of the Utter East[2][3] and further to the south, and thus beyond Faerûn, the giant peninsula of Zakhara.[4]
Regions[]
Eastern Shaar[]
The great expanse of the Eastern Shaar stretched from the Landrise in south Faerûn to the eastern region known as the Shining Lands, south of the Raurin Desert.[5][6]
- Beastlands: Located at the site of the ruined nation of Veldorn, this region was home to various non-human monstrous tribes who aligned with one another in a loose confederation for self-defense.[7] Aside from a kenku city in the Blackfeather Barrens, there were no cities or population centers of note, but mere fortresses and ruins.[8][9]
- Okoth: After millennia of slumber, the ancient realm of the sarrukh slowly returned to prominence in the centuries leading up to the Era of Upheaval.[10] By the late 1470s DR the sarrukh had re-established a number of cities around the central lake of Salt.[11]
Shining South[]
- Dambrath: The coastal region on the northern shores of the Great Sea were home to nomadic clans of Arkaiuns who practiced lycanthropy as a means to honor their gods. Before the events of the Spellplague, these people were ruled by the Crinti, a grouping of half-drows who believed themselves to be far above their human subjects. The former capital of Cathyr was destroyed during the human revolt and beset with monstrous spiders and demonic forces.[12][13]
- Luiren: An anomaly among the nations of Faerûn, these rich farmlands formed the only realm that ruled entirely by halflings.[14] After centuries of prosperity, disaster struck during the Spellplague, when the entirety of the realm was swept underwater by the expanse of the Great Sea.[7] Many of the communities that lay on raised lands survived the disaster as island settlements, that endured the decades it took for the waters to recede and reform the coastline as it once was.[15]
The Shining Lands comprised the three nations that were nestled around the great bay of the Golden Water. For many Faerûnians, the realms of this region formed the eastern border of their known world, as tales about the lands to the east were too far-fetched to ever be believed.[2]
- Durpar: The tolerant merchant kingdom believed wholly in the ideal of wealth and financial success.[16] Unfortunately their lack of a unified army caused them to suffer great losses to the monstrous forces that originated from the Beastlands to the northwest, leaving only their capital of Vaelan untouched from war.[17]
- Estagund: While it shared strong bonds with its neighboring nations of Durpar and Var, the monarchy of Estagund stood apart from its continued faith and practice of the Adama. It remained a beacon of spiritual wealth, commercial success, and stalwart military strength for all the Shining Lands.[18][19]
- Var: Once famous for its great fields of wheat and profound agricultural production,[20] Var the Golden was entirely submerged under the waters of the Great Sea during the cataclysmic Spellplague. The sunken ruins of once-great cities were left as prices for the denizens of the depths, such as the sahuagin.[21]
Beyond the Shining Lands were two more, out-of-the-way Realms.
- Thommar: A small, rather unnoteworthy nation located far to the south beyond the Dustwall Mountains.[22]
- Ulgarth: This human-centric feudal kingdom enjoyed strong trade with its neighbors, but suffered slower cultural and technological advancement due to isolation and years of oppressive rule.[23]
Utter East[]
The Utter East was a land made famous by tales of fancy that featured the legendary Five Kingdoms and their fantastic exploits.[2] The kingdoms were formed by the Ffolk who had migrated from the Moonshae Isles and conquered the local people known as the Mar, and ruled over them for a number of decades.[24] While the Mar were able to reclaim their freedom, they remained stuck in an imbalance of power with the kingdoms of the Ffolk.[3]
Among the Five Kingdoms were Doegan, Edenvale, Konigheim, and the Free Cities of Parsanic.[3][25]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 191. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Thomas Reid (October 2004). Shining South. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 109. ISBN 0-7869-3492-1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 95. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 230–231. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ Map included in Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ Thomas Reid (October 2004). Shining South. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 155. ISBN 0-7869-3492-1.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 87. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 96. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 97. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd, Darrin Drader (July 2004). Serpent Kingdoms. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 114. ISBN 0-7869-3277-5.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 166. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 115. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Steve Kenson, et al. (November 2015). Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. Edited by Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 10. ISBN 978-0-7869-6580-9.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 195. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ Steve Kenson, et al. (November 2015). Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. Edited by Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 11. ISBN 978-0-7869-6580-9.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 116. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 118. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 128. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 129. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 198. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 190. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Scott Bennie (February 1990). Old Empires. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 9. ISBN 978-0880388214.
- ↑ Thomas Reid (October 2004). Shining South. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 179. ISBN 0-7869-3492-1.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 93. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Peter Archer (June 1998). Realms of Mystery ("Darkly, Through a Glass of Ale"). (TSR, Inc). ISBN 0-7869-1171-9.